Southern Biscuit Recipe (3 Ingredients Only)
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Crafted with a mere trio of essential ingredients, this timeless Southern biscuit recipe stands as an enduring cornerstone of Southern culinary tradition. These biscuits, embodying a perfect fusion of simplicity and flavor, hold a cherished place in Southern households. Soft, fluffy, and undeniably delectable, they transcend the boundaries of mealtime, seamlessly transitioning from a morning indulgence to a savory accompaniment for dinner.
Each bite carries with it a taste of Southern heritage, a testament to the art of Southern comfort food. The simplicity of the ingredients belies the rich and comforting flavors that emerge from the oven. Tender and buttery, they exude a warmth that envelopes the senses. Slathered with butter or adorned with gravy, these biscuits become a canvas for a multitude of culinary delights, adapting effortlessly to various accompaniments. These flaky butter biscuits go perfect so many types of soups like Creamy Vegetable Soup, Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup Recipe, Vegan Butternut Squash Soup, and Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Ingredients To Make Homemade Biscuits
- (self-rising)
- Shortening
- Milk or buttermilk
Helpful Kitchen Tools
How to Make This Classic Southern Biscuit Recipe
Place the flour into a medium bowl and add the shortening. Cut in with a fork or pastry cutter.
It will look like this when you are done.
Not incredibly different but you won’t be able to really see the shortening anymore once it is incorporated into the flour.
Most recipes will tell you to cut the shortening into the flour until it resembles peas. I’ve never, in my life, seen peas that look like this, or a flour/shortening mixture that looked like peas. It must have been a high imagination day when that analogy was thought up.
Add in your milk.
Stir that milk in until your dough starts to stick together good.
Sprinkle flour onto a surface. I like to lay out a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle it on top of that for easy clean-up later.
Dump your biscuit dough out onto the floured surface.
Now you need to knead it.
However, you don’t want to over-knead it or you’ll end up with my Daddy’s hockey pucks.
I tell my kids “In biscuits, as in relationships, it’s never good to be too kneady.” LOL
Then, I cut your Southern biscuits.
Cut your biscuits with a biscuit cutter or small glass that has been dipped into flour to keep the cut biscuits from sticking to it.
Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and place your cut biscuits in it, making sure the sides touch. This helps them to rise because they support each other as they bake and rise up.
I tell my kids “You want them touching because biscuits are like good friends, they help each other rise up.”
Bake these at 500 for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Remove from oven and brush tops of these classic southern biscuits with melted butter, if you’d like. Enjoy all the delicious .
How To Store Homemade Biscuits
- Store leftover biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Reheat in a low oven or in the air fryer.
- You can also freeze the baked biscuits or unbaked for up to 3 months. Thaw both the and overnight in the fridge before reheating as above or following the instructions.
Recipe FAQs
Why does the recipe have such a large range for how much milk to use?
Sometimes, your flour will need a little more, sometimes a little less. I could have used a little more in this tutorial but it’ll turn out just fine. Biscuits are really hard to mess up, so if yours end up a little dry, no worries, they’ll still be delicious! They’ll actually absorb honey and butter a little better. My daddy used to make hockey puck biscuits on Sunday morning but they still tasted good and we gobbled ’em all down! What’s even better, if there were any left we could use them as weapons on each other out in the backyard. Always a plus side!
How do I avoid over-kneading my Southern biscuit dough?
To avoid over-kneading, I press my dough into a ball and then press it out flat. I do this no more than two or three times. The dough should still stretch. If it rips or tears then it’s probably over kneaded. So once the dough is soft and springs back a little, it’s done.
Can I Create Any Variations With This Recipe?
Here are some fun variations to make with this Southern biscuit recipe:
-
- For a savory alternative, add shredded cheddar cheese, chopped chives, or chopped bacon to your dough.
- For sweet, sprinkle some cinnamon and sugar into your dough.
- To make a scone-like biscuit, add dried fruits.
What Can I Serve With These Biscuits?
These pair best with your favorite Southern . This might be fried chicken, , pimento cheese dip, or bacon, egg, and cheese for the ultimate breakfast sandwich.
You may also enjoy these other Southern biscuit recipes:
- Easy Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits
- Pimento Cheese Biscuits
- Easy Chicken and Dumplings (With Canned Biscuit)
- Biscuit Pretzels
- Drop Biscuits Recipe
- Homemade Buttermilk Biscuit Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups White Lily self-rising flour see notes if using all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup shortening
- 2/3-3/4 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 500 degrees and lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Place flour into a medium bowl and cut in the shortening until well incorporated. Stir in just enough milk until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl.2 cups White Lily self-rising flour, 1/4 cup shortening, 2/3-3/4 cup milk
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead two or three times. Roll dough out to 1/2-inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter or small glass that has been dipped in flour. Place the biscuits onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
Who taught you how to make biscuits? Who made the biscuits in your family? Maybe you’ve never had a biscuit or to you, a “biscuit” is what we think of like a cookie – that’s just fine, too.
My husband’s grandma made the best biscuits ever. Once they were cut out, she melted a stick of margarine in the pan, coated each side of the biscuits in the margarine then baked – so delicious with a buttery, crunchy crust! – always topped with her home made sausage gravy. Yum!
My mother was the best cook, including biscuits. We never had self rising flour in the northwest that I knew of so added baking powder. I still can’t find self rising flour or cornmeal in Az.
I learned to make biscuits watching family members make them. Some were rolled out using White Lily flour and crisco and some were simply dropped. The large dropped ones were cat head biscuits made with lard and White Lily flour. Some used sweet milk and some used buttermilk I make both kinds and my family loves them!
Learned how to make biscuits from a pro…my Mother. She was a great cook and I have taught several people how to make biscuits and more using white Lily of course. I have used White Lily for all my 53 + years of my marriage.
Mother grew up during the depression. She said they almost starved to death, except for biscuits and gravy, dried beans, and cornbread.
Mother was an amazing woman! Daddy and us kids had biscuits every morning while I was growing up……..It makes me tired just thinking about it….she would get up, cook biscuits, sausage, eggs, gravy, and make coffee for all of us, and then set off to the barn to milk the cow. After that she would strain the milk and refrigerate it. Then she would churn some milk from the day before and make buttermilk and fresh butter. So we always had fresh churned real butter to go with our biscuits and some homemade jam or honey……yes from the fruit trees or honey hives that were tended with loving care by Daddy.
I hung around in the kitchen watching Mother work and between that and my home economics class managed to learn how to cook a few things.
Mother always used White Lily flour!! I asked her one time when I was a teenager why she always had to have White Lily. She said it was because it was the best and it made better biscuits. Biscuit quality was very important at our house!
I don’t make biscuits every day; but, when I do make biscuit or pastry, I always use White Lily flour. I’ve tried others; but, they are just not the same!
Mother was right about so many things including the White Lily flour! She has been gone over 20 years now; but, it is wonderful to the able to remember the times we had together. Thank you for the opportunity to enter the contest.
Mother and Sis showed me how to make biscuits. They rarely used measuring cups…I never developed that knack, but still can put out a good pan of biscuits. What I remember most is, after our meal Daddy would put some butter on his plate and pour some molasses over it, and then start working it with his knife…that would be the tastiest creamy mixture for biscuits. Ummm, that sounds so good right now still.
My grandmother made the best biscuits. When I asked her how she did it, she would say…you put a little of this and that in and make a well and use your hands and you get biscuits! I wish that I had watched her. I was too young to realize the weath of knowledge I could have gained from her. My mother loves White Lily and cannot get it where we live. What a great gift this would be for her! Thanks for the chance!